Metal Gear Online Beta postponed

Konami takes European and US servers down, extends beta period to compensate.

Metal Gear Solid fans will be well aware of the series' emphasis on sneaky stealth action. However, Konami followed the ethos of its game a little too closely last night when its Metal Gear Online Beta failed to emerge from the shadows at its allotted start time.

GameSpot users reported numerous errors yesterday when the beta was due to go live. Many bemoaned the amount of time it took to download an update to the previously released beta package, while others complained about the game's failure to recognise the two keys that they had registered on Konami's official Web site.

Today, Konami attempted to explain the problem with different statements from both the US and European offices. According to Konami US, the volume of traffic necessitated the temporary shutdown of servers until they were able to be stabilised. Konami's UK spokesperson recommends that users, "try the Game ID/Konami ID registration process over the following days...everyone who wishes to join the MGO experience will be able to register...in the next few days."

While the new start date for the beta has yet to be announced, Konami will be making another update on April 23 at 7 a.m. BST (April 22 at 11 p.m. PDT). The Japanese publisher also announced that the closing date has been pushed back from May 6 to May 11 to compensate for the late start.

252 Comments

  • master19148

    Posted Apr 24, 2008 8:47 pm PT

    FearNinja I agree wit u if we did pay for psn there network wouldnt be so cheap why would they care ok put it like this psn is free why would they the best work and higher quality into they network and putting all this money and hard work on a free network they will be losing money if they dont have some kinda fee

  • FighterHayabusa

    Posted Apr 24, 2008 5:56 pm PT

    This really sucks. I was really going tolay into KONAMI about thsi but I was too busy racking upbattle points on Virtua Fighter 5 ONLINE. Still this is a SCREW UP. NOW MGO beta is going to get in the way of GTA 4 ONLINE. Fact the game is &MONTHS LATE, obstensibly to smooth out the lag in MGO. ANd these ass-bags still screw this up. These STUPID BASTARDS barely kept MGO PS2 servers online barely a years, AGAIN obstensibly to BETA TEST for PS3 MGO. Wow that worked out GREAT, they STILL dont know what they are doing. ON TOP of these IDIOTS wasting my $40 on MGS:subsistance. I only bought it for multiplayer. Fact PS3 cant take anymore damn delays . At this point Imlike SCREW the beta. Its toolate. they screwed up. IF they were goint to takle the CHEAP route and make crappy servers thatcant handle jack. They shouldnt have bothered. and YES they ARE cheap. KONAMI are a bunch of CHEAP BASTARDS that wouldnt keep MGO Ps2 online while we waited for them to delay MGS4 TWICE.

    IF the CUT OFF MGS4 MGO after a year, there outta be a riot. IM sick of their cheap B.S.

  • xander4000

    Posted Apr 24, 2008 10:47 am PT

    Billnye is right tho, the problem is with konami, n ur right to, is ot just me or dus then new one load realy slowly??

  • FearNinja

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 6:08 pm PT

    Calm down bill, I was just throwing that out there. Some of you people on here are just so ridiculous.

  • BILLNYE6983

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 3:08 pm PT

    FearNinja, how is this the fault of the PSN when the whole issue is with stuff from Konami's end?

    There are surely problems with the PSN but don't go around making them up... you can't blame the PSN for something that it isn't even responsible for...

  • FearNinja

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 1:13 pm PT

    Maybe if we paid for PSN it would be of a higher quality. Just a thought.

  • xander4000

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 10:54 am PT

    aslong as there a good beta and a good game before i get bored of the whole thing im fine im pretty sure its the same for every one lol
    anybody know if ther is a mode were u play snake for sum reason in mgo like in the trailer??

  • sbjedi

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 7:56 am PT

    meh i cant be botherd with this im sure i can wait for the actual game to come out

  • TripSe7en

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 7:54 am PT

    @ Alberto:

    You can still get it possibly if you goto your nearest gamespot and pre-order the game.... I just got mine 2 days ago!!! Too bad i have to keep waiting for it to work! Damn you $ony!!!

  • Calmed_Fury

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 5:31 am PT

    so wait its really the 24th for those of us in eastern time zone right?

  • alberto2045

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 5:15 am PT

    oh man I wish I had known that I had to buy the game before April 12 to get a key now I wont be able to do it

  • SOLID_GREY_FOX

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 5:43 pm PT

    the only bad thing is waiting one hour for downloading.......
    but they did extend the beta to may 11 instead of the 5th. So if I get a smooth beta rideof mgo compared to lagg or whatever i'll wait

  • BrUnOdeFeNiX

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 3:48 pm PT

    OK! What we can do... WAIT!

  • xander4000

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 12:39 pm PT

    Gotta agree with that, just wanna be a nerd as i never thought id get on a beta test lol
    as long as its as gud as i hope then itll be ok, least they know what to expect for the actual launch, anybody still havin trouble with the ID shud try it in the mornin before anybody else gets on

    hurry up snake!!!

  • ogtravisc

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 11:20 am PT

    Look. Heres the deal. Along with gran tourismo metal gear solid is the best game franchise ever created. If we have to wait a little then get over it. Ive already got my copy reserved so all you losers who dont can cry about the beta. The fact of the matter is, is that Konami has been giving us some of the most amazing games ever and entertaining me for years so cut them some slack.....OK

  • xibalbai

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 8:18 am PT

    NOTICIA IMPORTANTE para los JUGADORES de METAL GEAR ONLINE PREMIERE BETA

    Queremos agradecer a todos los jugadores que han mostrado mucho interés en participar en esta fase beta del juego.
    Y les queremos informar que debido al elevado tráfico de visitas de todo el mundo, los servicios no han podido funcionar como esperábamos Por este motivo nos vemos en la obligación de suspender el Test público en Europa y reiniciarlo cuando nuestros servidores vuelvan a funcionar correctamente. Les pedimos las disculpas del caso por todos los inconvenientes causados. Les informamos que debido a las razones explicadas anteriormente, están serán los nuevos cambios en la presentación del test:

    1) El Test se realizará a partir del día 25/04/2008 a las 08:00 (CEST).
    2) La fecha del reinicio del Test es el día 25 de abril, si no se presentan problemas, el test se iniciará el fin de semana.
    3) La fecha final del Test ha sido cambiada al 11/05/2008 a las 24:00 (CEST) en lugar del día 06/05/2008.

    from: http://www.konami.jp/mgo/es/index.html

  • xibalbai

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 8:13 am PT

    IMPORTANT NOTICE for all METAL GEAR ONLINE PREMIERE BETA players

    We would like to thank all players for their keen interest in taking part in the beta test.
    However, we regret to inform you that due to extraordinary levels of traffic from all around the globe, we have been unable to run the service to the level we expected. As a temporary measure, we will be deferring the European public beta test and start it once we stabilize our server. We would like to apologize for all inconveniences as well as confusion caused. We would like to add that due to the above reasons, we will be making the following changes to the schedule: 1) Start date: Planned for 04/25/2008 24:00(PDT). While the start is planned for the weekend, it may change due to unforseen circumstances.
    3) Beta Test closure: This will now be on 05/11/2008 at 24:00(PDT) rather than 05/05/2008 at 24:00(PDT) IMPORTANT: Please note that your voucher code will only be valid up until 05/05/2008, so please make sure to register them by then. from: http://www.konami.jp/mgo/us/index.html

  • darkprince99

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 6:39 am PT

    .........im thinkin of returning my ps3 for a 360.......
    (kratos brakes in....cuts my head off!)...........says:"THINK NOW!!"

  • player_leo

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 6:35 am PT

    So this will not be coming out with MGS4 like it was said to some time ago. Will this game make an 08 release date or will it be an 09 title

  • freerunner01

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 6:27 am PT

    I still cant get the Konami ID...i was only able to DL the update 1.01 yesterday, come on already!!!!!!!!!!

  • ljaygrimes

    Posted Apr 22, 2008 3:18 am PT

    If its for Metal Gear, I can be patient. Can't rush greatness

  • lfg18

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 9:42 pm PT

    Delay it as much as you want, I've already bought mine on GameStop LOL

  • snake_9909

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 8:38 pm PT

    shady your a moron because i said so!!!!

  • cmhawk

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 6:08 pm PT

    @ rickshao
    those words are wrote correctly cuz he wrote them in ENGLISH and not american. talk about self owned lol

  • BaillieBoy

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 5:59 pm PT

    @ rickshao

    This is from Gamespot UK, Guy Cocker is English. Those words do not use a Z but instead an S over here. Think, rickshao, think!

  • ao28

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 5:58 pm PT

    It better start soon because I have it downloaded!

  • rickshao posted Apr 21, 2008 5:06 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    rickshao

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 5:06 pm PT (hide)

    Recognise, stabilise? Spell check, Guy Cocker, spell check!

  • supersonicGO

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 4:57 pm PT

    well that sucks big time

  • shadystxxx posted Apr 21, 2008 4:35 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    shadystxxx

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 4:35 pm PT (hide)

    dolfan928

    Sure I'm disappointed that the beta didn't start on time, but it's not the end of the world. They didn't have to give us a beta at all, and we will be able to play eventually , so no biggie. My beef is that these companies always underestimate how much of a surge will be on their servers when they do stuff like this. Anyone remember the Tiger Woods 08 game face debacle? Konami knew damn well everyone was try to log on as soon as it went live, so why didn't they prepare accordingly? I was amped because MGS4 is the game that sold me my PS3(well that and my utter disgust with Microsoft and their crummy products). This is one of the few REAL PS3 games, i.e. one that uses the PS3's technology to it's fullest, and nearly everyone with a PS3 wants it baaaaad, including myself. They should have known. Konami screwed up, not Sony, nor Kojima Productions for that matter. As for the Konami IDs, I love it, as long as you can get one. I hate the XBL style one name for every game thing PSN has. I had no problem with PS2 online. I don't want the same ID for Madden that I use for MGO, etc. I hope they keep it for the real release.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    That's just crazy talk!!!

    You DO NOT want ONE unique gamer handle for all games/everything, you want to have to make a new account with a different name for every game you buy.

    I don't believe you feel like that for one second, so you dont want home, which will make it so you only have one name from then on and that one name is used to record all your gaming info, achievements/trophys,friends etc

    You may be a sony fan or anti ms, but regardless the xbox live gamer tag is one of the best things to happen to console gaming(i dont mean the stupid achievements) and im betting all consoles have something very similar next gen.

    I agree MGS4 is looking amazing and i cannot wait, i loved snake eater but hated the camera and controls just like i have with every metal gear and snake eater is one of my fav games so with the modernizing of mgs4's controls etc im sure its going to be one of the best games ever.

  • iesexywarden

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 4:35 pm PT

    SHady, then play your abox. Noone cares about your rant on ps3. Look, your points make no sence. You say how ps3 online sucks (and you wouldnt mind paying a yearly fee if it was as good as xbox). You said this because of the problems with mgo. However, then you say this game doesnt even use psn, it usese their own network. So what your saying is Playstation Network sucks because this independent server sucks...THAT MAKES NO SENCE

  • shadystxxx posted Apr 21, 2008 4:24 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    shadystxxx

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 4:24 pm PT (hide)

    All this hassle to play an online beta.

    I own all new console's(just saying as i know there's allot of fangirls here) but this type of thing continues to prove the paid for xbox live service is far superior.

    I would have happily paid sony £30 per year if it would mean i got home nearer the launch window, a much better intergrated PSN, more/quicker demo's/better download/browsing speeds,AND ONE TRUE GAMING HANDLE.

    PSN was supposed to be the open network with endless posibilities, but so far the online expierence on the ps3 cannot compare with xbox live.

    My point being MGS4/MGO is Sony's big AAA exclusive and it doesnt even use the playstation network, you have a different gamer handle(im going off what i heard about this beta on the 1up yours podcast) a konami one to be precisie.

    After what MS have done with gamertags sony should have one handle for all games first party or not.

    GT5 is another joke, i paid £25($50) for the dl version and i found out today the BD version is £17.99 it costs more for the single download than the boxed disc.

    The price is not the problem it's the terrible online play, 9/10 race's are laggy as hell, i only bought it as im a gt fan but i have never been impressed with prolougue i just got it for online racing and it cannot even do that.

    It's pretty clear the japanese are way behind in the online space, with the super broadband connections asia has you'd think they would be ahead of the rest of the world.

    RFOM had an ok online expierence but other than that most other ps3 exclusives dont play to well online.

    And when is home coming out, PS3 will become one amazing console over the next few years but by the time they have all the feature's done for the ps3 and make it a complete gaming machine the next gen consoles will be coming.

  • x-2tha-z posted Apr 21, 2008 4:13 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    x-2tha-z

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 4:13 pm PT (hide)

    If you want your beta test to go smoothly, without pissing off most of your fans, copy the Halo 3 beta process.

    If you want an over-complicated beta, confusing your fans and pissing them off at the same time because of all the hoops they must jump through, copy the COD4 and MGO beta process.

  • Da_IceCream_Man

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 3:48 pm PT

    As long as Metal Gear solid 4 doesnt get postponed im good.

  • JohnnyNeat

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 3:31 pm PT

    This has become a hate fest when all it was about was this MGO issue.

    Now I'm thinking how long does it take to get a 12 digit Voucher fix or response to one's registration on id.konami.net?

    I mean, I went in and requested two confirmation email responses and still nothing, zilch. Very annoying. I say make it free to already and get over the codes, id names and vouchers.

  • dolfan928

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 3:23 pm PT

    Sure I'm disappointed that the beta didn't start on time, but it's not the end of the world. They didn't have to give us a beta at all, and we will be able to play eventually , so no biggie. My beef is that these companies always underestimate how much of a surge will be on their servers when they do stuff like this. Anyone remember the Tiger Woods 08 game face debacle? Konami knew damn well everyone was try to log on as soon as it went live, so why didn't they prepare accordingly? I was amped because MGS4 is the game that sold me my PS3(well that and my utter disgust with Microsoft and their crummy products). This is one of the few REAL PS3 games, i.e. one that uses the PS3's technology to it's fullest, and nearly everyone with a PS3 wants it baaaaad, including myself. They should have known. Konami screwed up, not Sony, nor Kojima Productions for that matter. As for the Konami IDs, I love it, as long as you can get one. I hate the XBL style one name for every game thing PSN has. I had no problem with PS2 online. I don't want the same ID for Madden that I use for MGO, etc. I hope they keep it for the real release.

  • felshs

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 3:14 pm PT

    these should have a COD4 war between 10 of the best team from PSN against 10 of the best from XBL for 3 days.
    Then we know who is better.....loser have smash their console...ohh..wait..can 360 really last that long??

  • AgentA-Mi6

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 3:10 pm PT

    thats it, I'll wait until the full game is released.

  • MiiforWii

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 2:56 pm PT

    @Kenji_Masamune

    They're here because they find it more fun bash PS3 owners then to play halo.

  • artson1966

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 2:47 pm PT

    This will inflame the xbots to slap on Sony for the week. In my world it is to work out bugs, Right? WEll here is bug number 1. I am confident that it will be worked out to all of our satisfaction. I do recall several titles on the xbox 360 with server problems as-well so in time this too will be corrected.

  • SicBMX84

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 2:28 pm PT

    I knew this was going to happen. Konmai servers aways s**k and they still s**k. So stop with O DUDE THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN ON XBOX. Yeah it would. Like me and 1,000 other people say. Its not sony servers, it was all konami servers. They weren't ready for this I think. But it all ok I got my game ID and now we just have to wait an other day.

  • thestickman

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 2:26 pm PT

    I'm still hoping to get an email back from them with a new beta access code since the one I received is missing the last 3 digits x.x

  • condemned100

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 2:25 pm PT

    I only have an Xbox 360 but it's still in the box since I have no games for it yet. But I don't try to Tear down the PS3 or the Nintendo Wii like most Typical Xbox 360 Fanboys. I will be taking the Xbox 360 out of the box to Play GTA IV.

  • Lyle311

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 2:25 pm PT

    I knew they would screw this up. Typical. Not angry though, still got 50 something days to MGS4 gets out anyways, so eh, who cares if they make us wait for a sneak freaking preview. Pansies and little kids, I guess.

  • nemes1s3000

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 2:23 pm PT

    Take your time Konami, to perfect a game that's already perfect.

  • moatartareque

    Posted Apr 21, 2008 2:16 pm PT

    yeah all these xbox idiots sayin ohhhh psn sucks ITS NOT PSN TURDS ITS KONAMI SERVERS

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